In Echo of Bitcoin’s Genesis, Mining Pool Embeds Reuters Headline on the Blockchain

A cryptocurrency mining pool has immortalized a potentially iconic Reuters headline on the Bitcoin blockchain.

• Slush Pool, which recorded block 659678 on the chain on Wednesday, included the headline: “Dollar plummets on U.S. stimulus hopes; Bitcoin hits all-time peak” in one of the data fields.
• Reuters' article, juxtaposing ailing cash alongside the surging bitcoin cryptocurrency, is being seen as an echo of pseudonymous Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto's famous inclusion in the cryptocurrency's genesis block.
• The very first block mined for bitcoin was embedded with the text: "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks," in a presumed reflection of Satoshi's view on the risks of fractional-reserve banking.
• Bitcoin and the U.S. dollar have been moving in opposite directions since March this year, with USD today having hit its lowest value since April 2018.
• The dropping dollar and expectations of rising inflation as central banks undertake unprecedented money-supply boosting policies amid the pandemic are seen as a growing reason to adopt bitcoin as a hedge like gold.
• Amid this scenario, bitcoin reached a new record high of $19,920 on Dec. 1, helped along by listed firms starting to invest in the cryptocurrency as a treasury asset.

See also: First Mover: Bitcoin’s Failure to Break $20K Shows Big Investors Only Just Arriving